Families raise eyes to the sky for solar eclipse

Spectators endure searing heat to catch a glimpse of the rare phenomenon.

People with special safety glasses watch the solar eclipse while at a gathering held by the Dubai Astronomy Group at the Wellington International School.

Spectators endured searing heat during the weekend to get a glimpse of the solar eclipse, a rare natural phenomenon that over the centuries has inspired awe, fear and superstition. "I'm a science teacher," said Raylene, a Filipina who moved to Dubai four months ago with her two sons, aged eight and 10. "It's their first time seeing an eclipse and I wanted to make sure we came to watch it because my youngest will be learning about it in school this year."

The family had come to the observatory at Wellington International School, one of three viewing stations set up in the country for the public to experience the first partial eclipse for more than two years. The school provided a telescope, fitted with filters to make viewing safe, handed out special protective glasses and delivered astronomy lectures to explain the event to the young audience, most of whom were seeing their first eclipse.

A solar eclipse takes place when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, leaving the Sun wholly or partly obscured. While up to five take place every year, a total eclipse is rare as it needs the Moon's inner shadow to sweep the Earth's surface - something that takes an average of 375 years to be visible in the same place twice. Friday's eclipse was total only in China, Mongolia, Russia and parts of Canada. In the UAE, 13 per cent of the Sun was obscured for about 90 minutes.

When the moon first began to eclipse the Sun at 2.45pm, organisers opened the hatch of the observatory at Wellington and spectators queued on the steps, awaiting their turn to look at the eclipse through the telescope. The Moon's shadow on the Sun appeared as a small wedge of darkness. "This is not how I imagined it," said Vasthsala, 11, who was there with his elder sister and parents. "But it's exciting."

"I thought there would be more shadow, like a full moon. But it was nice," said Vishvanth, 10, who had never seen an eclipse before. During the second stage of the viewing, people looked at the Sun through special protective glasses. "Wow, it's really amazing," said 17-year-old Vivardhini, who is studying biomedical engineering. Hasan al Hariri, the president of Dubai Astronomy Group, who delivered the astronomy lecture to the visitors in English, said he had not expected there would be so much interest in the subject. "We've grown to 700 members and we find there's lots of interest in astronomy."

The group is open to anyone and membership is free. It will meet on August 12 to watch a meteor shower and August 16 for a lunar eclipse. People can sign up for events at www.dubaiastronomy.com. @Email:[e-mail]